Ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday appeared before an anti-corruption court, kicking off trial proceedings that he says are biased and which threaten to dent his party’s chances at the next general election in the middle of next year.
Sharif briefly appeared before a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court in Islamabad on three corruption charges.
He did not enter a plea.
Photo: EPA
Local TV channels reported that Sharif is scheduled to be formally indicted on Monday next week, about two months after his disqualification by the Supreme Court for not declaring a small source of income that he denied receiving.
A Supreme Court panel has also alleged Sharif family’s wealth far exceeds their legal income.
“He has appeared before the court and by appearing he has proved to be a lion,” said Marvi Memom, a lawmaker for Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
Sharif, who returned from London on Monday after about a month in Britain, told the court his wife was being treated for cancer in London and needs his care.
“I am fighting baseless cases based on lies and also getting punished,” he told reporters at an afternoon news conference.
“I hope that there might be some justice still alive,” he said.
Sharif has portrayed the corruption claims against him as politically motivated, while his allies, including daughter and heir-apparent Maryam, have hinted Pakistan’s powerful military had a hand in his toppling. The military denies any such action.
“It’s a good thing that finally NAB and such institutions are holding rich and powerful to the count,” said Shafqat Mahmood, a senior member of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
PTI, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan who doggedly pushed the Supreme Court into launching a corruption probe into Sharif, has called for an early election, but it is unlikely the government will agree to that.
Sharif’s return to Pakistan quashed speculation that his long absense was the start of another period in exile for the veteran leader whose three stints as prime minister were all cut short, including one by a military coup in 1999.
“What kind of justice is this, what kind of accountability is this?” Sharif told reporters outside his upscale London apartment in London before departing for Islamabad on Sunday.
Two of Sharif’s sons are also due to appear before a NAB court, as well as Minister of Finance Ishaq Dar, a long-time ally who is married into the Sharif family.
Analysts say Sharif’s return to Pakistan was in part due to fears of defections within the PML-N, a common occurrence in a nation where politicians switch allegiances ahead of polls depending on which way the political winds are blowing.
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